Question: How has the process of using XR technologies been in Aljarafesa?
What we asked the functional managers of the facility was a couple of use cases of what could be done with that facility. From there, we recreated some maintenance tasks typical of that infrastructure. We made a script on paper of the steps we would have to carry out. We went there with the 3D glasses, we set up the stage, and we saw how these technologies could guide the operator when doing the steps: how it looked, how it looked in pure VR, how it could be seen with Mixed Reality and, Honestly, it was all pretty impressive.
Q: Why have XR technologies been used?
It is much easier for us to train a person with 3D models and XR technology models and, above all, instructions guided by another operator than to do it through a manual. Unfortunately, many times you have to do this type of pilot to bring that “science fiction” a little closer to the work that we do daily.
The innovative pilots that we usually make know that, in general, they will be well accepted by users, and, in this case, the acceptance was very great.
Q: What are the advantages of using XR technologies in companies like Aljarafesa?
Among the challenges we have as a company, there is a significant one that other sectors will undoubtedly share: the transfer of knowledge from some people within the company. That is to say, the average age of all the workers or the operative part makes it very important that this knowledge transfer can be carried out satisfactorily by the people occupying the new positions. So, transferring knowledge thanks to this tool is much easier. In other words, it is easier for us to train a person with 3D and XR models and, above all, instructions guided by another operator than doing it through a manual.
In the end, it is the seed of making good decisions. In other words, if you know what is happening in your infrastructure, you can even anticipate what will happen with the network’s behavior.
Q: How has the experience of working with these technologies been?
In the short term, we are seeing that it can be very useful for knowledge transfer and for that library of processes that we want to do within that infrastructure.
What we are already touching on is the Digital Twin. That is, the more reliable the models we have of physical reality, the more capable we will be of knowing what can happen in certain situations. For example, what would happen if the network pressure rises to such an extent? How would a specific structure behave? Etc. Thanks to such advanced digital models, we can do simulations, put ourselves in specific scenarios and not wait for reality to overtake us… So I think that’s where the trends are going.
I believe that many of the barriers that companies now have are that we believe that this type of technology has a high time and cost barrier that we have verified in the pilot does not exist. You can have a speedy 3D model with very high precision and do guided operations scenarios with XR technologies very quickly and at a low cost, which I think saves that gateway to company technologies. And that is what we want to contribute.
